THE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY

SPRING 2017 CONCERTS

BLOOMFIELD HILLS HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM

Band WEDNESDAY, MAY 31

FRIDAY, JUNE 2Orchestra

TUESDAY,

JUNE 6

Choir

oyomi.org

United by their love of music, over 350 elementary through high school students from southeast Michigan come together each week to fulfill their desire to deepen their musical experience.

Through our four-tiered orchestra program, we teach, guide, and foster musical growth in a friendly, supportive atmosphere.

We laugh, we play – literally.

Peter and Laurie Psarianos

PSARIANOS VIOLINS LTD.Specialists in Stringed Instrument Repair

Welcome to the 2017 Summer Concerts! I would like to thank all the IA parents for your support of the Music Program. This year has been an exciting year for the program as we welcomed our new Orchestra and Choir conduc-tor, Dr. Wang. It has been wonderful to watch as she and Mr. LaNoue take the program from strength to strength, and to listen to some beautiful concerts.

It's been fantastic to see the development of our students, both musically and personally, over the course of the year. Through your support and with our amazing teachers, we again had large numbers of students achieving top marks at Solo & Ensemble at regional and state levels. Who would have be-lieved that our plans to perform at MSBOA festival would be brought to a halt by a wind storm? Even so, we are grateful to the teachers for all their efforts in preparing for Festival and for their grace and resilience in the end.

We are also very grateful to our music families for the donations we received this year. We were able to support the teachers by purchasing new stands and racks for the orchestra room, a new electric piano, and an A Clarinet. We were very pleased to be able to bring in inspirational university faculty to provide master classes for the students and to continue to provide recognition for our seniors. We are particularly grateful to the senior parents who donate their uniform deposits to the Music Boosters, and to alumni who continue to support the program. Your students remain in our hearts as they move on to new challenges.

It has been an honor this year to be President of the Music Boosters—they are an incredible group of fun, hard-working people. Please consider volun-teering for next year's Board or coming along to meetings to see if you would like to get involved. You would be very welcome.

Thank you for your generous support throughout the year.

Nicola Raistrick, President, IA Cental Campus Music Boosters 2016-2017

C O N T E N T S

Concert Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Musicians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14

Senior Reflections . . . . . . . . . . 16-34

Benefactors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35-36

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~ Band ~Bloomfield Hills High School

May 31, 2017

Eric LaNoue, Director of Bands

Jazz Band

Anitra's Dance (from Peer Gynt Suite) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edvard Grieg,Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn

Oclupaca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Duke Ellington

Harlem Nocturne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Earle Hagen

Critical Mass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jeff Jarvis

Concert Band

The Avengers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alan SilvestriArr. Michael Brown

Pirates of the Caribbean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Klaus BadeltArr. Ted Ricketts

Music from The Incredibles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael GiacchinoArr. Bocook

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Symphonic Band

West Side Story Selection . . . . . . . . Leonard Bernstein & Stephen Sondheim(I Feel Pretty; Maria; Cool) Arr. W.J. Duthoit

Mambo from West Side Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leonard BernsteinArr. Michael Sweeney

Carmina Burana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carl OrffArr. John Krance

1 . O Fortuna, velut Luna(O Fortune, variable as the moon)

2 . Fortune plango vulnera(I lament Fortune's blows)

3 .Ecce gratum(Behold the spring)

6 . Were diu werlt alle min(Were the world all mine)

9 . In taberna quando sumus(When we are in the tavern)

13 . Fortuna Imparatrix Mundi(Fortune, Empress of the World)

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~ Orchestra ~Bloomfield Hills High School

June 2, 2017

Jui-Chao Wang, Director of Orchestras

String Orchestra

The Odyssey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . S. H. Newbold

Rey's Theme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .J. WilliamsFrom Star Wars: The Force Awakens Arr. Paul Lavender

Ear-irigami . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R. Meyer

Symphony Orchestrafeaturing Senior Soloists

Concerto in C Major, Movement I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J. HaydnMatt Ratanapanichkich, Cello

Concerto in G Major, Movement III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G. P. TelemannEliana Finkelstein, Viola

Concerto for Bass Tuba and Orchestra. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .R. Vaughan WilliamsAndrew Bach, Tuba

Clair de Lune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C. Debussy, arr. Ruth MyersStephanie Lux, Harp

Meditation from Thais . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .J. MassnetAleksandar Pavlovich, Violin

Die Reise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Elizabeth HelfrichElizabeth Helfrich, conductor

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Reverie, Op . 24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A. GlazounowPayge Lindow, Horn

Symphonie Concertante, Movement I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W. A. MozartMadelyn Rescorla, Violin & Jane Beckwell, Viola

Der Schwarzwald. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jennalise Kate EllisJennalise Ellis, Conductor

The Lark Ascending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .R. Vaughan WilliamsEliana McComas, Violin

Concerto in A Major . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D. Dragonetti, arr. Norman LudwinAlexander Raistrick, Bass

Piano Quintet 1, Movement II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Daniel BaldwinDaniel Baldwin, Piano

Concerto in A Minor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R. SchumannKevin Huang, Piano

Concerto in E Minor, Op . 85, Movement IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E. ElgarJason Du, Cello

Symphonie Espagnole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E. LaloSophia Kim, Violin

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~ Choir ~ Bloomfield Hills High School

June 6, 2017

Bel CantoJui-Chao Wang, Director

Kemp Winkler, accompanist

Arirang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Traditional Korean Folk SongArr. Sonja Poorman

All of Me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Legend

Ain't No Mountain High Enough . . . . . . Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson

Clap Yo' Hands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . George GershwinArr. Greg Gilpin

Special Soloists and EnsemblesSelections to be announced from stage

ChoraleEric LaNoue, Director

Hot Knife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fiona AppleArr. Eric LaNoue

Interlude (Ripe & Ruin) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . alt-J (∆)Arr. Eric LaNoue

Class Arranging Projects - to be announced from stage

Goodbye Blue Sky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Roger Waters of Pink FloydArr. James Walrad* Student Arrangement Premiere

America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Paul SimonArr. Eric LaNoue

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BEL CANTOSopranoHajir AlobaidiDana AlzohailiNandini AryaSally BdeirEllie FranklinGabriella Hirsch *Pooja MenonIzabella MuchnikOlivia RobbinsEwura SarpomaaJulie SheldonAlly Van EschZhangyu WuRenad Zamzam

AltoSabrina AndreiEsme BernerJessica Cho *Esha KaulNeha MiddelaCaitlin PaquetteYelim ParkIman QureshiCatherine ReynoldsYasmeen RidaNardine SamuelLian ShoukfehGrace Singh Madeleine StromAleena ThomasSophia WagenblastJacqueline Wojcik

TenorKunal BhatiaLawrence GappyAlexander HajiSudharsana Kali

LakshminarasimhShane MannaNeil MascarenhasTimothy Prusinowski *Ajit RaghavanAkhil ReddyDaniel ReimchenBradley RyanLuis SeichterChristian SelvenJames TangSimon Tomazic

Aasem AbdulrazzakBrandon AlatiAhmad AlmaatJonathan AmmoriHamad AzizNathan BuschElliott Gappy

Gabriel GillelandShashank GowdaElijah Harbut *Vincent HuynhAhmad MustafaSaria NashefImran Quazi

Nicholas SalehKevin SongKinan SulimanSolen TadesseDonovin ThompsonUdbav Yabaku

Bass

* Section Leader

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CHORALESopranoSophia Arzumanov *Sabrina ButcherMikaeyla ConnollyAlexa DoriaEmma Iizuka *Kathleen KimOlivia KieferHannah Kowalski *Erin MabeeAlyssa MooreNkemjika OkekeDanielle OstrovskyChetanya PaiFelicity ReeveClaire SwayzeSydney WarnerRylie Zimnicki

AltoSaharah BaldwinMadison ChoAdriana DoriaDelaney FinnAlexandra GrypinichMeghana Kandiraju Vanessa KieferGiselle MillsShraeya MithalSayako TakaiMai-Ly TranMarcela Valdivieso *Vivien Yousif *

TenorBrendan AbdalJoseph AronoffAlexander Dekker *Aditya Nambiar Trevor Stark *Nicholas TerrellSimon Verghese

BassChristian BeswickNoah Louis-FerdinandJoseph MajchrzakRichard MarxIsaac RitoAlexander TrombleyJames Walrad *Matthew West *

* Section Leader

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STRING ORCHESTRAViolin Andrew Alkatib Andrew Cao Andrea ClarkHailey CohenSara CruzNeha Dwibhashyam Noor EtibaAshley HutchinsonAayu Jain *John Jepko **Nataliah JwaidaLawrence Kim Josephine LeoneGrishanth ManoharanLily MorseKarthik RaviEstelle SerugaAmy Tang ++ Aarani Varatharajan *Wenze Wang

Viola Ethan Hill *Seiji Hoshino Sheehan Hussain Suleiman KhanJenna Kochenderfer ** Tara Wagh Cello Eliot ChiJulian DalatSophie Egnotovich Sofia GammonsSarah Kefri **Moochan Lee Alexis NickopoulosQuintin PetersClaire RiddellLogan Swisher *

Bass Michelle Chumiecki Nathalie TasichJillian Beckwell **

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ViolinFlorian AssmuthDanny BaldwinSophie Barlow *Atta BettagiAlissa BurchSamuel CaoHeejun Cho Aniela CraytonRebecca Driker-OhrenGabbi Farah Natalie HongNicole KallsenNadia KhanJungwoo KimSophia Kim ++Varsha KumarDaniel LondickEliana McComas *Larissa Michel Mari Minton Leah MoirCaroline MorrisEmma MurrayGaby NahhasPelagia PamelAleksandar PavlovichMaddie Rescorla **Carmen RidaHana SomaEric Yang

ViolaJane Beckwell **Enrico ColonEliana Finkelstein () *Miles Goedert Tess HelfrichMaggie MillerZeinab MostafaJames MyersSophia Norton

CellosBrooke BoardmanJason Du **Jenna EllisRina HeltTejal MahajanMartin MastrangeloRachel MyungMatt Ratanapanichkich *Angelina ReyesRebecca Wong

++ Concert Master + Asst . Concert Master ** Principal Player * Asst . Principal Player () Ruth Kileen Memorial Viola

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

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SYMPHONY ORCHESTRABassesEmma BoldtEmanuelle Carduner Aidan Charmley *David CookElizabeth FlatoffLola LeahyAlex Raistrick **Taylor Southward Caitlin Ukpong

HarpEmily GuildsStephanie Lux **Esmeralda Orozco

Flute/PiccoloLenna KaneharaJake LiHeidi Schmidt

Flute/OboeKevin HuangHarshini Sivakumar

ClarinetAnnie Nguyen Isabella PanseNyah Phillips

Bass ClarinetTyler BoualyvongsaneMichelle Liu

SaxophoneLuca Di Vergillio

HornArav AgarwalJeffrey HartingPayge LindowBrian Lou

TrumpetBrigetta GreinerAlyssa HirschAngela Peterson

TromboneOscar LewisMatthew Priskorn

TubaAndrew Bach

EuphoniumAndrea Niu

PercussionRanganath KathawateKotaro BroderickIndeever Andra

** Principal Player * Asst . Principal Player

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CONCERT BANDFluteLexy DeKorteShivangi DeyFilip GrodzickiArwa HassaballaLena LiTonia LiJing-Yi LiuCharisse McComasAnika PaffhausenKaleigh RiccioIsabella SimakasThu-Anh TranAmelia Wright

ClarinetKate Adams-BooneCatarina AssmuthStephen BojanowskiJared FangMehlam KadwalwalaLara OrkunHarshan RamakrishnanVivek RaoChristina Said

Bass ClarinetColton DeVosNaveen Nithiyaragawan

SaxophoneEdwardo AguilarCarlo BarthsDia CamaraLuca Di VirgilioPratham GoswamiAdam HayenDanny Jandali

TrumpetMatthew ChandraCameron JajonieAyden MakarGaspard MosquetAmaan Naqvi

HornMatthew ChenYounus MohammedPatrick Szygowski

TromboneCarter AlexanderJack MantingMatthew PriskornPranav ShuklaAlbert Tedjo

EuphoniumKalen Akins

TubaRyan ChatterjeeNigel Lang

PercussionAlexander FryRohan GuptaUsman HaqJacob LentzAnthony MarxSaleh MuraadZachary RosarioStefan Sapiano

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JAZZ BANDSaxophoneTyler BoualyvongsaneDia CamaraShawn ChildersLuca Di VirgilioMorgan ElderMaya PatelZachariah Roberts

TrumpetBrigetta GreinerCharles PardalesAngela PetersonThomas RaistrickAbhijeet Suryadevara

TromboneCarter AlexanderQuentin JonesOscar LewisMatthew Priskorn

PianoKenneth JaoHeidi Schmidt

BassCaitlin UkpongAlexander Raistrick

DrumsKotaro BroderickConner Lenington

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SYMPHONIC BANDFluteKevin HuangCynthia JiaLenna Kanehara *Jikun Li *Randy MiKaitlyn MooLeila OwensHeidi SchmidtNavreet SinghHarshini SivakumarHolly Tavi

ClarinetSamantha AustinCecilia FryDora GuoEvan KolinMatthew ManciniSophia MarshJodi MotlaghAnnie NguyenIsabella Panse *Nyah PhillipsAndrew WiederholdSydney Zhang

Bass ClarinetTyler Boualyvongsane *Michelle Liu

BassoonThomas Castaldi

SaxophoneCarson ArnegardPranav ArunandhiShawn Childers *Morgan ElderMaya PatelZachariah Roberts

TrumpetIsabel FernandezBrigetta GreinerAlyssa Hirsch *Kristina OstermanCharles PardalesAngela PetersonThomas RaistrickAbhijeet Suryadevara

HornArav AgarwalMarc BeiredJeffrey Harting *Payge Lindow *Brian Lou

TromboneQuentin JonesOscar Lewis *Owen Wright

EuphoniumDelace JiaAndrea Niu *Chris Young

TubaAndrew Bach *

PercussionIndeever AndraKotaro BroderickSpencer HaishaRanganath Kathawate *Conner Lenington *Anja NortonSara SantangeloJack Smitterberg

* Principal Player

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IACCMB BOARDInternational Academy Central Campus Music Boosters

OFFICERS

Nicola Raistrick, PresidentZirka Kalynych, Vice President

Mitch Swayze, TreasurerPaula Lenington, Secretary

BOARD MEMBERS

Emilia AskariAlice McCornasDenise HartingDebbi KowalskiCindy BaldwinCharlene Mo

COMMITTEE CHAIRS AND KEY VOLUNTEERS

Nicola Raistrick, BanquetCindy Baldwin, Programs

Debbi Kowalski, Events ManagerDenise Harting, Uniforms

Zirka Kalynych, Spirit WearAlan Norton, Recordings

ADMINISTRATION

Lynne Gibson, Tri-Campus PrincipalChristopher Smith, Associate Principal

Sarah Fairman, IB Coordinator

DIRECTORS

Eric LaNoue, Band and ChoraleJui-Chao Wang, Orchestra and Bel Canto

http://iamusic boosters.orgTwitter@iamusicboosters

Facebook@: The International Academy Music Boosters

IACCMB, Inc. IA Central Campus Music Boostersa Michigan 501(c)(3) non-profit

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~ s y m p h o n y o r c h e s t r a ~

Daniel BaldwinI consider music to be a huge part of my life. Playing in an orchestra has inspired me to compose, and in addition to my IB Music class, has really widened my views and tastes in

music. Types of music I like include: gen-uinely almost everything, from almost all eras of classical art music to nearly all types of popular music, all kinds of jazz and hip-hop and more recent cool elec-tronic music. You might not hear all that in my composition, but it’s all opened my eyes and led me to be able to appreciate some of the simpler parts of music. I will be attending MSU, at the Lyman Briggs college, in the fall, and I plan to continue to play and write music.

Sophie BarlowSophie had the choice to come back to the world as a human or a cat. She chose to become a human, a much questionable decision. However, with the benefit of opposable thumbs

she was able to travel the world, learn several languages, and pick up the craft of instrument playing. Two years ago she arrived to Michigan (a world she never knew existed until then) and started to fiddle around along with many other people in the room. After several years of fiddling, she has learnt better not to waste her time and hopes to achieve higher goals in the future while at University of Michigan (yes, she liked Michigan so much she decided to stay for a little while longer).

Jane BeckwellJane “Uncle Jane” Beckwell has been an orchestra mem-ber throughout her four years at the IA. She has played the viola for eight years, and intends to con-tinue performing and studying music

in college. In the past four years Jane has developed her passion for music through Oakland Youth Orchestras and Detroit Metropolitan Youth Symphony, as well as IA’s Symphony, Full Orchestra, and IB Music course. She’ll never forget the lovely experiences that she has had with her quintet and viola families, nor the teachers who have inspired her to pursue music. Jane will be attending Grand Valley State University’s Frederik Meijer Honors College in the fall to study biomedical sciences, music, and German.

Aniela CraytonI am a violinist and joined the Inter-national Academy string orchestra in Freshman year, and symphony orchestra in Junior year. I have really enjoyed all four years and the different experienc-

es that I have gotten to have because I was in orchestra, such as going to solo and ensemble Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior year, and also attending festival as a whole ensemble. One thing that made my experience not only an opportunity to improve my violin skills, but also learn important life skills, such as hard work and dedication, were my school teachers, Mr. Wolf, and recently Dr. Wang, and my private violin teacher Ms. Kirton. I have really enjoyed my past four years, but am also excited about the future, right now I am committed to the University of Michigan, but am waiting to

s y m p h o n y o r c h e s t r a • s e n i o r r e f l e c t i o n s

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hear back from a school I am waitlisted at. The International Academy and or-chestra offered me experiences that were enriching, unforgettable, and showcased so many different perspectives. I am so happy that I was able to be in orchestra all four years and meet so many friends!

Jason DuJason has been a part of sympho-ny orchestra as a freshman. Jason plays cello and will continue his studies at the University of Michigan College of Engineering. Jason thought that

orchestra was a lot of fun.

Jennalise EllisThis note is about Jennalise. Please read it if you have a spare minuet. She is pretty sharp, clefer, some might say. Music has been keeping her out of treble since she was six years old when

she started taking piano. Cello came later in fourth grade, but she wasn’t sure it was her forte. She warmed up to it when she started playing in concert with the members of the OYO, first chair actually. She really guitar act together when she started the IA’s Ukulele Club in freshman year. Piano, however, never fell flat and it became a way for her to conduct a home business teaching piano since she was 15. Not one to toot her own horn, it’s a high note that Jenna really measured up when she received a music scholarship from her future alma mater, Kalamazoo College. This last concert is a major development because it cymballizes a crescendo in her amazing music expe-riences at the IA. If you haven’t had the chance, you really should meter.

Eliana FinkelsteinEliana Finkelstein was born on March 12th, 2000 in West Bloomfield, Michigan. She first became involved in music in fifth grade when she decided to take up the flute, and after a year de-

cided the flute just wasn’t for her. When she started middle school she decided to play viola in orchestra class, and she has stuck with it ever since. In the beginning of freshman year, she thought she want-ed to join the choir instead and continue playing viola on her own time, but after about two weeks she was drawn back to playing in orchestra. Her favorite mem-ory of orchestra is receiving the Ruth Kileen memorial viola at the end of her freshman year. At that time she made the promise to play viola for the rest of high school and then pass the viola down to another freshman student at the end of her senior year. This promise created a passion for her instrument and inspired her to pursue greater knowledge in music as a whole by studying music theory in DP Music and writing a music extended essay. Eliana will be attending University of Michigan in the fall and plans on playing viola in their orchestra.

Elizabeth “Tess” HelfrichElizabeth “Tess” Helfrich has been a violist for all four years at the IA, although she is disappointed to not be joining her “Viola family” for her last concert due to

wrist/hand injuries. Her favorite memo-ries are sectionals where the violists try to get work done, but instead complain about homework and give life advice to the underclassmen. She will miss seeing

s e n i o r r e f l e c t i o n s • s y m p h o n y o r c h e s t r a

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s y m p h o n y o r c h e s t r a • s e n i o r r e f l e c t i o n s

the bright and happy faces of the violists everyday, but will most certainly not miss hearing the Bach Cello Prelude (or any other movements from the Bach Cello Suite). She will be attending the Univer-sity of Texas at Dallas in the Fall as part of the McDermott Scholar Program and will be undeclared on the pre-med track.

Seung Yeon (Sophia) KimWhen choosing an instrument in fourth grade, Sophia ini-tially wanted to play the clarinet, but was persuaded to pick the violin. Almost a decade later, she’s incredibly grateful

for making that decision even though her neck has never been the same ever since (#diditforthehickeys). Sophia has been in Symphony Orchestra since a freshman (fantastic four!) and has been honored to be a leader throughout her orchestral career at IA. Her experiences have led her to incredible opportunities, from performing at MYAF to Carnegie Hall.

Sophia would like to thank Dr. Wang, Mr. Wolf, and Mr. LaNoue for consistently encouraging her musical pursuits. She would also like to thank the IA Music Boosters for always supporting the student music program at IA and helping out with her club, the Tri-M Music Honor Society. Lastly, she’d like to thank (and apologize to) the orchestra for putting up with her.

In the fall, Sophia will be attending the University of Pennsylvania to study neuroscience and business.

Varsha KumarVarsha is a second violinist and has been playing violin since she was in fifth grade.  When she started high school, she almost did not continue; however, continu-ing to play was

one of the smartest decisions that she made.  She has loved her orchestra experience, from adjusting her technique massive throughout freshman year to playing Schubert’s great works during her senior year. Varsha will be attending the University of Michigan next year and hopes to continue to make music in some form a part of her life in the next few years and in the future.  

Daniel LondickI have a had a lot of fun through my four years of orches-tra. The class has allowed me to make friends and to learn the joys of making music. Through the class I have also been able to

improve a lot as a musician. I have gone from sounding like I was playing with spaghetti noodles and then like a but-terfly in a cocoon, with the cocoon being the orchestra, I have turned into a lovely butterfly that knows how to play the violin. I am very thankful for Mr. Wolf, Dr. Wang, and Mr. Lanoue. Without them I would not have gotten this far. Now I am off to film school in Los Angeles where I will be beaten down by capitalism and crushed by crippling debt. Kek. At least I will have my violin.

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Stephanie LuxStephanie Lux has played harp in Symphony Orches-tra for three years. She came to IA as a violist, but started transitioning to the harp mid-way through her fresh-man year. Though

she misses the viola section, the Harp Hallway has been a fantastic home ever since her sophomore year. Although there are only ever two or three harpists out in the hallway, you can rest assured that they always have a great time tuning their harps, playing, and occasionally eating cake or crepes from the French room. Stephanie has thoroughly enjoyed leading the wonderful harp section this past year, no matter how many strings broke or how challenging the music was. She will miss playing with the orchestra (and especially with her fellow harpist) when she moves to New York in the fall, where she will attend Cornell University to study biomedical engineering.

Martin Mastrangelo“Music has always kept me anchored. I started playing cello in 5th grade, and have loved it ever since. Music is important to me not only because I have experienced it

for so long, but also because I have made so many friends along the way. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at IA, and will miss all of the friends I have made. I plan to attend Michigan State University in the fall with a focus on Mechanical Engineering. I will continue playing music in college, and feel that it will be a lifelong avocation for me.”

Eliana McComasEliana likes to make stuff and one such example of stuff is music. She always liked the arts and after being told that she was horrible at flute and terrible at

the clarinet, she found she was passable at violin. She started making musical stuff in 5th grade with her violin in her school orchestras, OYO, and then MYS. Her time in IA’s orchestras were a large part of her school life and she would like to thank all of her friends in orchestra for making her experience so valuable (shout out to the quartet). She wants to keep making stuff but is undecided as to where she will do that at.

Magdelynn Miller When the pengui-none breaks and all your hopes fall,and you wonder why you

took IB chem at all, yo, but at least I know that penguinone is a ketone,3,4,4,5-Tetramethylcyclohexa-2,5-dione, aye,wiki helped with that one and orgo makes me wanna run from thesesuffixes, prefixes, jesus these were made for geniuses,I guess the reason it's still pleasing is cuz they fit like puzzle pieces, aye,but imma keep rapping,those exams I'll be passing,nomenclature in my nature and orgo is the baddest,imma fade to the blacklisttryin to learn aromatics,benzene, arene, well which do you mean,I know that one's got a six carbon ring,

s e n i o r r e f l e c t i o n s • o r c h e s t r a

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OH THEY'RE THE SAME THING?Oh sweet, now alkenes--"wait, this is for an ORCHESTRA senior bio? I can't even be at the concert, I'll be in Albuquerque....okay, well I don't want to rewrite this...just tell them to rap it at 120 bpm"

(in all honesty,orchestra was a blessing,from sophomore year's st. paul's suite,to last year with shasty.admittedly, i'm happy,that i kept my fingers practicing,rather than sitting idlyin another product team)

Mariko MintonMari Minton started playing the violin at Clawson Middle School, and has not quit playing since. During her years at the Internation-al Academy, she has played violin in Oakland Youth

Orchestra for 4 years and has been en-rolled in the after-school Full Orchestra at the IA for 2 years. Next year, Mari will be attending the Frederik Meijer Honors College at Grand Valley State University to study BioMedical Sciences and Pre-Med. Although she doesn’t have plans to play in an orchestra during her freshman year, she doesn’t want to end her musical experience. She was encouraged to organize a Ukulele Club at GVSU on her admission, just as she has organized one with the help of a few classmates at the International Academy.

Aleksandar PavlovichAleksandar has grown up in a musical family, performing on stage with his father and grandfather at three years old. He played piano until the fourth grade,

until he began to play violin in school. He also plays the tambura; a Serbian folk stringed instrument, occasionally performing with his father and his group, Orkestar Lira. During his time at IA, he has also performed with the A Cappella group for two years. During the summer, he plans to travel the East Coast and visit family; performing with his father in Ohio in July. Aleksandar will attend Michigan State University, where he plans to study finance and real estate, while pursuing his interests in politics, diplomacy, music and photography. There, he has been accepted into the Residential Business Program, and he plans on joining the orchestra.

Alexander RaistrickAlex started Bass as a freshman and has spent 4 years grow-ing as a musician in Symphony Orches-tra. Along the way Alex joined MYS, and then grew to love jazz and funk

music, and branched out into playing with IA’s Bazz Jand. He is very thankful for the opportunities that the IA Music Program has afforded him, and hopes to continue playing both orchestral and jazz music while he studies at the Univer-sity of Michigan College of engineering next year.

Alex would especially like to thank his bass guru Dale Anderson, his section, as well as Mr. Wolf, Dr. Wang, and Mr.

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LaNoue for guiding and inspiring him through his high school years.

Matt RatanapanichkichMatt Ratanapa-nichkich is a 9-year cellist and proud member of the IA Symphony. He is extremely grateful for the chance to have been a student at the IA

and a member of such a talented group of musicians. His favorite memory of the orchestra was practicing and perform-ing with his quartet from sophomore to senior year for Solo & Ensemble and beyond. He is grateful for having such a talented, fun, and hard-working group in Jane Beckwell, Maddie Rescorla, and Eliana McComas. Not only did they play brilliantly, they also put up with his shenanigans and have become some of his most cherished friends. He thanks Dr. Wang, Mr. LaNoue, and Mr. Wolf for working unbelievably hard to make the orchestra what it is today.

Madelyn Rescorla(Maddie feels incredibly strange writing about her-self in third person, but here it goes!) Maddie Rescorla has been playing violin since 5th grade; since then, she has grown as

both a musician and a person. She has had the honor of being part of the String Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra, Full Orchestra, and Oakland Youth Orchestra. Through orchestra, she has met so many amazing and talented people. She has also had the pleasure of playing with the best quartet ever (but she’s biased) for 4 years. Orchestra has always been the place where she has been able to

forget her troubles (which are numer-ous because it’s IA) and enjoy one of her passions alongside friends. Maddie feels so honored to play with such an amazing group of people who have been forced to learn her painfully stereotypical Mozart concerto. Maddie is really excited to share this piece with all of her friends and family and her only hope is that she will not fall off the stage while perform-ing. Maddie will be attending Lyman Briggs College at MSU under the honors program; there, she hopes to pursue pre-veterinary medicine and continue playing her violin.

Carmen RidaCarmen Rosa Rida is attending the University of Michigan in the coming fall. She has played in the orches-tra since her

sophomore year and does not regret her decision switching into the ensemble. Music has been a large part of her life and is thankful for all the lessons learned from her stand partners and conductors.

Hana SomaHana started violin in her elementary school orchestra. Since then, she has lived in several cities across Japan, and upon returning to the US four years ago, she resumed playing violin as a

member of the orchestra at IA. She hopes to keep the precious memories of being a violinist at the IA even after she goes on to attend university.

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~ s y m p h o n i c b a n d ~

Indeever AndraI will truly miss the timpani. Not just one, but I will miss all four of the tym-pani. Playing the timpani for the past four years has been an enlightening experience.Thank you Mr. LaNoue

(**rhymes with CaNoe**) for providing an environment for me to gain insight into the world of timpani.

Sincerely, Indy Andra, Class of 2017

Samantha AustinI am very grateful to have music as part of my school life at the IA. I got to meet and make friends with a really fun and dedicated group of people, and shared many memorable moments. More

importantly, we’ve grown together throughout the years musically, and I am proud to be one of them! Mr. LaNoue has been wonderful in making sure that we’re always learning and challenging ourselves while having fun. I was intro-duced to many beautiful pieces of music that I otherwise would not have come to appreciate. I will bring the lessons I learned from this class and all the memo-ries I made at IA as I get ready to contin-ue my academic career at Michigan State University. It’s been a great experience that I will always cherish, and I know I will bring music with me wherever I go.

Andrew BachSince the start of his high school career, Andrew knew he had one of the most daunting tasks of his life ahead of him. This task, to be the greatest musi-cian who ever lived. It would take a lot of

talent, hard work and pure luck for him to achieve greatness like his ancestor, Jo-hann Sebastian Bach, was able to do just a mere 300 years ago. But he knew, that with the help of his friends and mentor beside him, it would be possible.

His freshman year, Andrew was set up for greatness as his instrument of choice was the best one of them all, the tuba. After all, just being able to lift up the weight of the tuba gives the player immediate virtuosic abilities that would be necessary to achieve fame and success. However, it wasn’t all great this first year, as Andrew had to struggle through the highly intense challenge of the symphonic band repertoire during the early stages of his high school life. But he knew he would have to overcome this obstacle no matter what if he was to be one of the true greats.

During his sophomore and junior year, Andrew took on many more chal-lenges as he was prompted to join both full orchestra as well as the newly formed brass quintet. This put even more pres-sure on him, which both motivated him even more to succeed, but also flustered him as he had more musical responsibil-ity than ever before. Luckily, he was able to complete all of these tasks in front of him thanks to the moral support of his friends and allies being called up from concert band to symphonic band each year.

The senior year was the biggest challenge for Andrew’s journey. It was the test to see how far he had truly come on his journey to be the greatest. His test would be to lead his band to

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success with another first division rating at festival. Unfortunately, he would be contested by mother nature and be un-able to complete this test to the best of his abilities. All in all, Andrew has come a long way since he began his tuba playing career, but still has a lot of progress to make before he is considered to be as great as Johann, which he will attempt next year in the Alma College marching band and symphonic band.

Tyler BoualyvongsaneNine light years away, just outside of the Kepler Solar System. We find our-selves consumed and utterly mes-merized with a story of a young rebel against the system

refusing to conform or comply in the ways of authority. He chose to go off to Michigan State University and get lost in the waves of its 1:30 and i can’t think of anything to write so i’m just gonna hope no one reads this part... At that moment, the one known as Fotini Michalakis guid-ed him across this great chasm known as “Bass Clarinet” and chose to jump across this chasm and lead the stampede of lost souls in the middle of of their metamorphosis, not quite through with their journey. Unsure of what mysteries await him in life, whatever it is, it’s better than here.

In all seriousness, thank you so much Mr. LaNoue for good four years. It’s been interesting to be a part of such a dedi-cated group of individuals. From coming into school tired and dead to being just completely gone (that was a joke), band has always been a fun class no matter what mood I’m in.

Isabel FernandezI have played the trumpet and been involved in band for the last eight years. I have really enjoyed my time at the IA as the support from peers here is unlike anywhere else. I have been able to

learn so much and experience so many different cultures. Band has allowed me to meet people from other grades and build connections with them that I would not have as easily made without the class. I have gained so much through attending the IA and I would not be the person I am today without this expe-rience. This fall I will be attending the University of Southern California, which has been a dream of mine for many years now. I am so excited to go to college, but I know I will miss high school.

Spencer Haisha Band was fun.

Jeffrey HartingJeffrey Keith Harting was born a natural French horn player as was his father, the first Keith Harting. Since be-ginning playing French horn in the sixth grade,

J. Keith Harting has progressed in his playing abilities, joining the Symphonic Band his sophomore year, advancing to

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co-section leader in his senior year. As Mr. Harting’s musical skills have progressed, mimicking that of his father, so has his love for music. J. Keith Harting will be continuing his academic, athletic, and hopefully musical, careers at the CoW (College of Wooster) in the fall of 2017. J. Keith Harting will be remembered for his commitment to the musical program at the IA through his many hours of practic-ing as well as his lasting and unforgetta-ble quote, “Put me in Concert Band”.

Alyssa HirschShe loved trumpet a lot when she came in and now she loves fencing. She has received a fenc-ing and academic scholarship from Wayne State. Music was fun and stuff, but fencing and

birds are super great. #kony2012

Kevin HuangKevin Huang was born years before the first stars had formed in the sky. He fell upon this godless world in the form of

the meteoroid that killed the dinosaurs and decided to stay out of pity. He was raised by dragonflies who had forced him to start playing the piano and flute which he reluctantly did with much mis-ery until he grew up and it wasn’t that bad anymore. Upon entering Symphonic Band he was taken under the wing of Sensei Ryuji whose skills on the oboe sur-passed any talent Kevin had seen before. Ryuji abandoned Kevin and once again Kevin was left stranded with his fellow meteoroids on this god forsaken planet. While he is thankful to Mr. LaNoue and Dr. Wang for sharing the ancient musical

rites and secrets with him, Kevin has taken upon the quest of finding further truth in the world at the University of Michigan. He is incredibly and endlessly grateful for the support and love of his dragonfly parents, his firefly piano teach-er and his meteoroid friends. Kevin will miss his time being a part of the musical sector of the IA galaxy, and he wishes the best to all future meteoroids who will embark on his same journey.

Cynthia JiaBorn a flute and raised by oboe(s), Cynthia didn’t know where she be-longed. Her single oboe godfather Ryuji left her behind to fend for herself and her fellow floboe Kevin in the

bewildering world of Symphonic Band. Though initially cold and confused, Cynthia’s heart was eventually warmed by the members of the band and by Mr. LaNoue’s sometimes morbid jokes. She will shed between 1 and 5 tears as she leaves for Stanford University and looks back on memories of performing at the 2015 graduation, playing maracas, and having mildly painful flashbacks when American in Paris started playing during a Nazi documentary in IB History.

Ranganath KathawateAs a member of Concert Band, Sym-phonic Band, and Full Orchestra over the course of my years at IA, I have been given the priv-ilege of discovering a world previously

unknown to me. No longer are the noisy avenues raucous and loud. Rather, I am partaking in the symphony of the streets, and the orchestra of the ordinary. What

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has struck me the most is that beauty is everywhere, and there is clarity in disso-nance; one just has to find it, which is a difficult yet fruitful challenge. Percussion has taught me that there is often not one right answer. Just as tremolos and cre-scendos are musician-specific, the same applies to solving ethical and logical dilemmas. Percussion has truly enlight-ened me, which I know will benefit me years to come. As I continue my academ-ic career at University of California, Berke-ley, I can confidently say that the lessons I learnt in music ensembles will benefit me in years to come.

Oscar LewisIn his youth, Oscar Lewis attended the prestigious Interna-tional Academy. This was a time of great change for Oscar. He met many new people and was introduced to many things that were

foreign to him, from classical music to nihilism. These two things would come to dominate Oscar’s time at IA. As one of the greatest minds of his generation, Oscar Lewis was always challenging the authority figures in his life. It was during his years at IA that he began one of his most bitter rivalries: that with his band teacher, Eric LaNoue. Oscar and Mr. LaNoue would butt head many times throughout Oscar’s four years at IA, trading verbal blows during class and engaging in linguistic sparring at every opportunity. Mr. LaNoue would frequent-ly abuse his power in serving out “justice” to Oscar, and soon he was spending three hours of detention after school due to his totalitarian band teacher’s lust for vengeance. However, one day, as Oscar was cleaning the bathroom with a toothbrush during his detention, he heard the sound of Eric LaNoue prac-ticing his trombone in the band room. This discovery of something in common

between the bitter rivals led to an even-tual reconciliation that allowed Oscar to realize his true potential as the best trombonist that Eastern Birmingham had ever seen. After finishing his schooling at IA, Oscar went on to study trombone at Central Michigan University and went on to join a Klezmer Grunge fusion band, with which he currently performs.

Payge LindowMusic has been a huge part of my life since my Grandpa Jerry passed music down to my mom who taught me piano and al-

ways encouraged me to continue music. I’ve been playing the french horn for 8 years, and during my time at the IA I’ve played in both Symphonic Band and Full Orchestra since my freshman year, as well as leading the section for three years. The close community in these groups has created many inside jokes and memories that developed friendships. Mr. LaNoue’s humor and musical talent is inspiring and has encouraged the band to play difficult pieces while having fun. I would also like to thank Mr. Wolf and Dr. Wang for directing full orchestra and for helping the horn section be at our best. Being a board member of the Tri-M Music Honor Society for two years has been a rewarding experience as well, and I am so proud of my fellow board and of the musicians for sharing their musical talents with the school and community. I would also like to thank my private lesson teacher of five years, Dr. Dennis-ton, for helping me fulfill my musical potential and prepare for many years of Solo and Ensemble, District Honors Band, and finally my concerto. Solo and Ensemble has been a great experience with my very dynamic fellow Brass Quin-tet members, as well as my dedicated fan

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and accompanist, my mom. My family and the musical community at IA have helped me grow musically and share that with others, and I encourage other musicians to always do their best for the group and take advantage of the variety of musical opportunities at IA.

I will be attending the University of Michigan in the fall and I plan to continue music recreationally there, but nothing can compare to my times in band with puns and sectionals.

Brian LouFrom cracking jokes in sectionals to dis-cussing music with Mr. LaNoue, Brian’s time at the IA was always punctuated with music. In the four years under the direction of Mr. LaNoue, there was

never a dull moment—from sarcas-tic comments to genuinely insightful tangents, the otherwise chaotic nature of band was tempered by the soothing words of Mr. LaNoue. Even under the greatest duress, Brian always managed to find solace in music over the past four years, from his time in freshman year concert band to his later years in sym-phonic band and full orchestra.

When not playing his instrument, Bri-an can be found continuing his aesthetic journey as well as dismissing said jour-ney in cynical and self-deprecating jest. He intends to continue playing music in recreational ensembles at the University

of Michigan in the fall.

Sophia MarshSophia really enjoyed being a part of the music program for the four years she has attended IA. She has been playing

the clarinet since sixth grade and is really happy that she was able to continue be-ing part of a band throughout her high school career. She sees that the IA bands are a close-knit group of students who are all passionate about making music. She has been really inspired by them and has been able to further her understand-ing of how important music is in our lives whether it is playing or listening to it. It has been an experience that she will treasure for years to come. She is very excited to continue her academic life at the University of Michigan next year. Thank you for all of the memories and beautiful music!

Kristina Osterman I learned to play trumpet alongside my older brother and sister over the past seven years. At the IA, band class, whether it be concert band or symphonic band, was always a fun

experience. I loved getting to know the people in different grades in band class and appreciate every moment I spent with my trumpet family. My favorite pieces that we have played were Baba Yetu and Africa, which were both very fun, upbeat pieces. I hope to continue to foster my love of music at Michigan State’s Residential College for the Arts and Humanities over the next four years. I am planning to major in creative writing and cannot wait for the future. I am very excited to go to college, although I'm

sure that I'll miss band class with Mr. LaNoue.

Harshini SivakumarWhen Harsh-ini started at IA, she didn’t

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know how to play flute…like at all. As she learned from the basics, she made a lot of great friends that helped her to ac-tually understand things about band and life. Her first two years were in Concert Band, where she played the best reper-toire to ever exist - the Incredibles, Baba Yetu, and Guardians of the Galaxy. After that triumphant concert, she moved on. Junior and Senior year, she joined Symphonic Band and Full Orchestra, becoming a better flautist throughout and expanding her range to the oboe par fin orchestra, a lot of vocals this year, and even some percussion (because Africa). Throughout the last four years, she has been through one very long concerto concert, a lot of crazy sectionals with the Flute Flock, two missed concerts (snow days are interesting) and a whole lot of fun. These days, she spends most of her time training her second-in-command Leila to get her own stand (they won’t hurt you). She would like to thank her private teacher Mrs. Jill Steiner and her band director Mr. LaNoue for helping her to succeed. In the fall, she will be attend-ing the Georgia Institute of Technology to major in Aerospace Engineering and will definitely continue music in college and throughout her life as she works to become a rocket scientist.

Abhijeet Suryadevara I will always remem-ber the class after our festival concert in sophomore year. Even though we got a first division rating, Mr. LaNoue commented on our performance as

“great, but not perfect”. No four words could better express the impact IA’s mu-sic program has had on me . The music program shaped my personality to aim for perfection in anything I do, whether it be music, academic, or extracurricular activities. Music at IA has ingrained in

me an attitude to pursue perfection, an attitude I intend to sustain as I pursue degree in Pre-med at Michigan State University.

I would like to thank Mr. LaNoue for being a great teacher and mentor for me throughout high school. Throughout my four years at the IA, Mr. LaNoue’s work in the music program has allowed me to create valuable experiences and memories that I will always cherish, from playing in sectionals to performing in the Detroit Opera House. Without him pushing me in music since my freshmen year, I would not have had these valuable experiences and opportunities.

Andrew WiederholdAs a concert band member in fresh-man year I was very motivated to move up to symphonic band. Through private lessons I got a lot better and suc-cessfully auditioned

for and joined the symphonic band. At first I handled the more advanced music well, but as time went on I got more and more lazy with my practice schedule. Sophomore and junior year went by, and I found myself playing at the level that 8th grade me did.

Finally came senior year. I told myself before the year started that I would actually practice and once again become a skilled clarinet player (ha). I think I’ve taken my clarinet home like 3 times this year and I’m playing like I did when I was 12. You probably also are either about to hear or have already heard me fake 75% of a concert.

Though I do not think my journey in music was a successful one in terms of improving on my instrument, it is definitely something I am glad I went through. I have learned a lot through being a member of the bands (such as that you need to practice something to

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stay good at it) and will take what I have learned with me to the University of Michigan next fall.

Chris YoungThe last four years have shaped me into someone who never gives up and always tries his best. I will always remember the late nights studying and the fun times with friends. I would like

to thank my family for always believing in me and pushing me to be the best version of myself. My immediate future is at the University of Michigan, where I will start learning computer science.

~ c h o r a l e ~

Sophia ArzumanovI first joined choir in 6th grade in my home district of Lake Orion and immediately fell in love with it. I participated in Solo and Ensemble, the “Dragon Select” Lake Orion middle

school honors choir, and attended Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp for choir the sum-mer before IA. I decided to audition for Chorale that same summer and ultimate-ly began my freshman year as a Chorale member. Though at first it was intimidat-ing, Chorale allowed me to make a lot of lasting friendships with upperclassmen and I felt very welcomed in the IA choir community.

My choir experience grew as I joined IA Cappella, the student organized a cappella ensemble, as a sophomore, and gained a lot of friendships, skills, and memories through the process. I also participated in the MSVMA Honors Choir my sophomore year and did voice

lessons all throughout high school with my wonderful voice teacher Mrs. Carol Petty. Even outside of singing, I repre-sented the IA Choir program in our Tri-M Music Honors Society as the secretary for two years working with a team of very talented IA musicians.

Though I’m heavily involved in science, all of the singing in my life added a fine balance to my routine, as it enriched my life and taught me things about self-expression, leadership, and performing that I would not have other-wise learned. Thank you to Mr. LaNoue, our very knowledgeable and talented choir, band, IB Music, (and IB exam prep!) teacher, for bringing a positive and fresh mentality to our music program and always encouraging students to be cre-ative no matter who they are and where they come from.

Sabrina ButcherThis has been my fourth year in choir with Mr. LaNoue. My freshman year I was in Bel Canto and, thankfully, made it into Chorale for my next three years. Quick shoutout to Adam and Donovan

for looking after Bel Canto after I left sophomore year. In all seriousness, I gen-uinely feel I have grown as a singer and learned a lot about music that I will never forget. I really appreciated the variety of music that was chosen for us to sing. Every time we made it to the end of a concert cycle and performed our pieces I felt really proud of myself and the choir as a whole because they really did always turn out beautifully. Although each song had its own degree of difficulty to learn and imperfections during our concert, I always enjoyed the end product. I also met a lot of upperclassmen and underclassmen throughout my years in chorale that I would likely have never met otherwise.

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Madison ChoWhen Maddie first started singing in sixth grade it was a sound that made babies cry out in pain, cats run away, and sent emergency services rushing to the scene for fear of an earthquake

shattering buildings. But alas it was just Maddie singing along to Ke$ha’s Tik-Tok. Three years of middle school choir did nothing to reign in the awful sound that was Maddie’s singing. When Maddie first entered Mr. LaNoue’s classroom, he shook his head and asked the music gods for strength. He knew the great challenges that faced him. Thankfully he was up to the challenge. Maddie was forced to confront her poor tonal center, her awful rhythm, and her weak breath support. After the first year of bel-canto Maddie lost all of her friends to a terrible incident, a plague of the moral sense….Chorale. This tragedy inspired Maddie to work even harder to achieve placement in Chorale. With the assistance of Emma Iizuka, Mr. LaNoue, and other friends Maddie worked somewhat tirelessly to become the mediocre musician she is today. After many attempts, Mr. LaNoue finally relented and allowed her to join the ranks of Chorale saving her from the fate of choosing to take all three scienc-es. While her voice may be a B average at best, her effort will always be an A-.

Alexander Dekker'Alex Dekker first started in Bel Canto as a lowly freshman, but his passion for singing and creat-ing music with the people around him led him to -'

Ah, yeah, um. Hmm. Doesn't feel right.

'Alex Dekker is a proud member of IA Chorale, and his body of expertise ranges from composing to - '

Ew. Didn't know it would be this hard. Wish I could be more down to earth.

'Alexander Dekker would like to thank his family, close friends, Mr. LaNoue, and every IA music student he has had the pleasure of working with, for getting him where he is today. He will forever hold a special place in his heart for his memo-ries of -'

TOO SLOW!Ugh.Look, it's been great, yeah? That's all

I want to say. It's been great. Thanks for giving me something good enough that it hurts to say goodbye.

Alexa DoriaI performed in my first dance recital when I was three years old. I had to wear an itchy pink tutu with my hair in a super tight ballet bun. I cried the entire time I was backstage because

my costume was so uncomfortable. When I entered the stage though, I felt a wave of happiness and joy that made me stop dead in my tracks on stage to wave to my parents who were in the front row cheering me on. I am still a dancer to this day and I am absolutely in love with it. The stage has always been a home for me. It was a way for me to escape from the pressures and stresses of life. Also, I have been singing since elementary school and I have been in Chorale since sophomore year. Throughout my four years in Chorale at IA, I have met some of the most passionate and talented peo-ple. If I had to give any piece of advice to those of you still here at the IA it would be this: Embrace each and every moment you have here. Embrace the good, the bad and the ugly because while it may seem unmanageable in the moment, you

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will look back and realize it was all worth it. Remember to thank all of the people you had supporting you along the way. Thank you Mom, Dad, Yiayia, Uncle Bill, Adriana and Anthony for supporting me through all of my endeavors and for being there through every challenge and triumph.

Emma IizukaShe crawled out of a gopher hole in the middle of the night in November and to put it nicely, she looked like she had just gotten hit by a truck. After being dormant for the last several hundred

years, she was waiting for the perfect moment to greet the world. She missed the rise and fall of kingdoms, bombs, war, all of the things that would send the world into armageddon. Yet it was not these destructive things that brought her from her hiding place. It was the sweet song of a maiden clearing the kitchen after a long night in the bar. Emma did not know the words of the people who inhabited the “above” but she made her way towards the voice. She scratched at the door, covered in dirt and grime, hoping for something to eat. The young lady opened the door in a swift motion to find a creature on the steps, weary and starving. The lady took Emma inside, bathed her and clothed her and fed her something delicious and sweet. It was something called tomato juice which would later become a crucial part of her diet. But there was something that Emma continually tried to portray to the young lady. Something with her mouth, hunger perhaps? She couldn’t figure it out until one day the lady started singing and Emma immediately erupted in a smile and an affirmative “Ah!” She pointed at herself to notion that she too wanted to learn how to sing and make pretty noises. From that point forwards, it

was a difficult time trying to teach Emma how to sing, for Emma was tone deaf. But it didn’t matter, she was happy while singing.

Emma still continues to sing today - thankfully not nearly as tone deaf

Hannah KowalskiHannah has been in Chorale for four years and has loved the experience. She's met so many amazing people during her time in Chorale and will miss them dearly as she hopefully

continues with choir at Kalamazoo College. Hannah would like to thank her fellow senior friends, like her love Mai-Ly, Nick, Maddie, Matt, Marcelita, and Erin, as well as all of the underclassmen and Mr. LaNoue for making her high school choir experience such an enjoyable one. She would also like to thank her family for all the support they've given her over the years with her singing career and her mom for encouraging her to join choir in the 8th grade, ultimately finding what she's truly passionate about.

Noah Louis-FerdinandThis year has been OK, but I think I peaked near the end of last year with regards to Chorale. At that point, we sang a very soulful rendition of “Spooky Scary Skeletons”

by Andrew Gold. This version had the primary aim of glorifying the human skeleton as well as cartoon depictions of the calcium-reinforced muscle puller of the body. After our high praise of it, we moved into a bone-chilling secondary verse which was adapted from “Goodbye Blue Sky” by Pink Floyd. The song ended

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with a three letter word I cannot repeat, but scared half of the choir to death. All in all, my best experiences with singing have resulted from times when I didn’t take it super seriously, and instead increased the regard with which I viewed relatively non-serious topics. Much of singing involves not taking yourself seriously, and that can be more fun that it would otherwise seem. Moreover, don’t be anxious or nervous to sing out and enjoy music - it will be your biggest regret afterward (and that applies to more than just singing).

Erin MabeeErin Mabee got into the choir life by realizing her lack of talent with both the french horn and the clarinet. She entered the Inter-national Academy with dreams of star-dom, or at the very

least a place the school choir. Erin was then blessed with two years of memories she likes to block out in a quaint little torture zone called Bel Canto. After much determination and practice, she took the leap and auditioned for Chorale, more than a couple steps up from Bel Canto. Then, at last, she did not get in and was subjected to re-auditioning. However, after this she was graced with a covet-ed spot in Chorale, and has excelled at being average in the soprano section for the past two years. Next year, she plans on not continuing her singing career past what her shower is able to hear at DePaul University in Chicago, with her sister Shannon who is inspired by her story and helps her through this difficult adjustment period of accepting her lack of musical talent.

Richard MarxRichard Marx is a senior at the Inter-national Academy. While most people don’t think of Rich-ard Marx as a choir person or a singer (most likely because of his athletic, well-built, strapping phy-

sique,) he does, in fact, have a good deal of musical experience. He had two years of high quality beautiful voice with Bel Canto, and then two more years singing with Chorale. He would like to thank the choir team for this experience. They are some cool dudes. Some other cool dudes are his family, who have supported his singing career up until at least now by providing housing, food, and other cool stuff. This has been an interesting expe-rience, and Richard feels he is definitely now a better singer than he was before he was born.

Nkemjika OkekeHi, my name is Nkemjika Okeke. I transferred to International Academy in Grade 11 after attending high school for two years in Ottawa, Canada. Through-out my high school

career I have been involved in tons of fun activities inside and outside of school. Most notably I participated in Black Stu-dent Association (BSA) for all four years of high school, serving as president of BSA at International Academy during my final year. Being a part of BSA has been extremely fun and eye-opening because it has taught me a lot about making an active effort to work towards creating an environment where everyone feels that they're being treated equally. Outside of school I played varsity girls' rugby for two years, and trained in singing classical

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c h o r a l e • s e n i o r r e f l e c t i o n s

music, musical theatre and vocal jazz. As I leave International Academy I plan to pursue financial engineering, and I'm excited to start university in the fall.

Felicity ReeveFelicity has been a member of the IA choir program during all four of her years here at IA. She started out as a member of Bel Can-to in her freshman and sophomore years and was then

very excited to join Choral in her junior and senior years. Felicity has always had a passion for music, though prior to her time in IA’s choirs, she was not very skilled at all in terms of her singing ability. (Seriously, even her cat objected when she attempted to sing.) However, after her time in IA’s choirs and with Mr. LaNoue’s patient instruction, Felicity has grown hugely as a vocalist and can now actually carry a tune. Felicity would like to thank Mr. LaNoue for making choir a special part of her IA journey and for all of the wonderful, musical memories that she will carry with her forever. It has been a joy and an honor to be a member of IA’s choirs for the past four years. “Thank you for the music!”

Nicholas Terrell Nick Terrell came into IA thinking he was in art but was placed in Bel Canto against his will with all of the other non-passion-ate forced singers. He quickly made friends with Mai-Ly

and Rylie who were two of the very few people that actually liked singing in Bel Canto. They planned to try out for Chorale so that they could sing for the rest of high school and pushed Nick into

auditioning, too. Hannah also threatened Nick to audition. By everyone’s surprise, Nick got into Chorale! He fit right in and has enjoyed singing the wonderful piec-es that Mr. LaNoue chose.

Mai-ly TranOne fateful day in the midst of the new rush of high school, Mai-Ly walked into her first day of Bel Canto, chewing on some gum (that she promptly spit out, don't worry Mr.

LaNoue). She never expected choir to be a huge part of her life, but the idea of singing in a group setting (something entirely new to her) piqued her interest just as much as the idea of pizza for breakfast. From that day, she made so many new friends she'd keep for the next four years, ate a lot more food, and took some more children under her wing with her lovely wife, Hannah, in Chorale. Oh, how far Mai-Ly has come and how far she’ll hopefully go, moving to the alto section this year and hopefully keeping up with music in university (which will hopefully also have good food). She would like to remember how much the community and music (and food) helped her through the adjustment to high school and the horrors of junior year. This is just the beginning to the odd journey that will be Mai-Ly’s life, and hopefully, music will never leave it. Also did I men-tion that Mai-Ly also really likes food?

Alex TrombleyHey all, Alex Trombley here. I’m going to the University of Michigan college of Literature,

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s e n i o r r e f l e c t i o n s • c h o r a l e

Science and the Arts and am going for a dual-major of Physics and Computer Science. The past few years have really restarted my ambition to explore writing and playing music on my own. Chorale inspired me to pick up learning piano and guitar again and to learn to play the songs I like outside of school. I want to thank you for the past few years of singing.Aloha,Alex Trombley

Marcela Valdivieso & Vivien YousifVivien is emoMarcelita is saltyVivien knows about music but is bad at it (“nOT truE” - Marcela)Marcelita doesn’t know anything about

music but is good at it (“lol”-Marcela)Vivien likes Ernest BlochMarcelita doesn’t like Ernest Bloch :( (“who is Ernest Bloch?”- Marcela)Tear down this wall

p.s. Mr. (Eric) LaNoue doesn’t wanna speak at our wedding :((( (even though we met in his class and have been con-quering life since !!). Also we are going to be in two diff states for college (Kalama-zoo College (MI) and American University (D.C.)) and it’s going to be sad but we r excited and can’t wait to pursue our new life endeavors. (vote viv 2036 ppl + pls buy cela’s records)!! Chorale will always be our #1 + our bb altos for making our section so big, being so good, and rock-ing at attendance !!

But jokes aside, our time spent in Chorale is something that we have grown from, appreciated, and will never forget. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to be section leaders, and letting us learn from this experience. It

feels crazy that this is all coming to an end, and we know that wherever we’ll be in the future, music will always be a part of our lives because of the foundations this class has given us (mostly Marcelita bc V is a cool kid and took IB Moosic (“wut”-Vivien)).

We’ll mostly miss u Mr. LaNoue! shout out 2 u habibi!!

#altolove #mazeltov2us #musi-cisNOTjustaboutfeelings #thephry-giandominantisenharmonicallyequiv-alenttothemaqamhijaznehawand #alsotheahavarabacantorscale

James WalradThe existence of James Walrad re-mains unconfirmed.

Matthew WestI HATED the idea of being in choir my freshman year. I took it as the lesser of two evils between it and art. I wanted very little to do with it. But as the class went, I found it was pretty fun. It

was a class where I could do something else other than worksheets and quizzes, while still doing something that felt meaningful. I also realized I wasn't com-pletely horrible at it, like I thought I was going to be going into the class. After be-ing a part of a small group performance for the pops concert of my freshman year (with people here such as Rylie, Maddie, Nick, Alex Trombley, Emma, and some others not in the choir), I really realized I liked choir, and that I was probably good enough to be in chorale. After a depress-

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c h o r a l e • s e n i o r r e f l e c t i o n s

ing and angering spot in bel canto my sophomore year, I feel I only got more confident in the end, and was completely ready for a spot in chorale my next year. Thanks in large part to everyone in the choir, I’ve really enjoyed being in it ever since.

Rylie ZimnickiHi guys! If you don’t know me, my name is Rylie, I am eighteen years old, and I have been a member of Chorale for three years (after one grueling year of Bel Canto). Next year, I will be

attending the University of Colorado, but

I am still unsure about my career path. IA has been a very important part of my life, and I will never forget the family that I have gained here. The most important moment of my IA choir experience was my junior year pops concert; I had a raging migraine, causing me to forget a verse of my solo, but I still pushed through it and sang like a rock star. This was really telling to me about the person that IA has shaped me to be. I have become a strong, perseverant person, and I have the International Academy to thank for that.

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